The Rs 50 billion gas billing dispute has created waves of confusion and mistrust in the country’s energy sector. To start with, Rs 50 billion is an amount quite something. After thousands of industries and CNG operators raised voice against bills for dues stretching back nearly a decade, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had to intervene and now e has now ordered an independent probe into the matter.
Former federal secretary Shahid Khan will lead the inquiry. There have been loud protests from around 2,950 industrial consumers and 1,200 CNG operators, who say the charges are unfair. They argue their products were already sold, some even exported, and the costs cannot be recovered now.
The dispute involves Sui Northern Gas Company Ltd (SNGPL) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). So far, media reports are concerned, it is reported that SNGPL says it simply billed according to Ogra’s revised notifications. Ogra, on the other hand, says it was only actualising provisional RLNG prices from April 2015 to June 2022.
This simple exercise resulted in a complex total of Rs 50 billion, of them Rs 14.4bn is claimed from industries, Rs40bn from the power sector, Rs 3.8bn from CNG, and Rs 2.4bn from fertiliser. The total even touches Rs 60bn when taxes and late fees are added.
The bigger worry is the retroactive nature of these demands. Businesses cannot be expected to adjust their accounts a decade later. Rules may allow recovery, but rules without fairness only deepen mistrust.
If such practices continue, companies may shift to private suppliers, weakening the already fragile regulatory framework. Adding to the mess is a Rs 76bn subsidy dispute, making the picture even more unclear. Both Ogra and SNGPL point fingers, while industries prepare for fresh legal battles.
The probe ordered by the prime minister offers hope. But it must bring clarity, not more confusion or a time-buying exercise to call the protest for the time being. Energy contracts must ensure predictability, not surprises.
